Nick Reiner entered a not guilty plea in court to two counts of first-degree murder on Monday, February 23, as he is being accused of killing his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, in December. And with that, it might mean the defense team will pursue an insanity defense.
However, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani is weighing in on the case, speaking with US Weekly about what could truly hurt Nick’s defense.
“The fact that Nick got into an argument with the victims a day before the murders at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party is fatal to any real defense in the case,” Rahmani explained, adding that since the argument happened hours before he committed the crime, it shows “evidence of premeditation, which is what you need for first-degree murder with special circumstances under California law.”
“If you get into an argument with someone and you come back with a weapon, that’s premeditation,” Rahmani added.
Neama Rahmani Pokes Holes In Nick Reiner’s Possible Defense Strategies
When speaking with US Weekly, Rahmani detailed some of the defense strategies Nick’s counsel could be exploring, but poked holes in them all.
Beginning with a possible plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, the defense has to to prove that the person was “unable to know right from wrong.”
“If you’re capable enough to have an argument with your parents at a Christmas party, you are not insane,” Rahmani added.
Rahmani also spoke about Nick’s potentially arguing self-defense, but added that since “his parents are a lot older than him,” it will be “very difficult to prove self-defense unless they had some sort of weapon.”
And lastly, in the case of a heat of passion manslaughter defense, there was too much time between “argument the night before,” since Nick came “back the next day with a knife.”
Prosecutors Haven’t ‘Decided If They Will Seek Capital Punishment’
GettyFollowing Nick’s arraignment, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman addressed the possibility that they could pursue the death penalty.
“We take the process in which we determine whether or not the death penalty should be sought extremely seriously, and it goes through a very rigorous process,” he said. “We will be looking at all aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and we have invited defense counsel to present to us, both in writing and orally in a meeting, any arguments that they would like to make in consideration for our going forward or not going forward with the death penalty.”
